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Why Mariah Carey's All I Want For Christmas Is You is such a classic, nostalgic holiday hit

On the 25th anniversary of All I Want For Christmas Is You, musicologist Nate Sloan breaks down what makes the song so enduring and why it's emerged as a rare newcomer into the canon of classic Christmas songs.
Mariah Carey has a new No. 1 hit: her 25-year-old holiday classic All I Want For Christmas Is You. (Columbia Records)

Originally published on Dec. 23, 2019

Mariah Carey's huge hit All I Want For Christmas Is You is Spotify's most-streamed Christmas song of all time, it's among the 20 best-selling singles ever, and it's consistently landed on the charts since it was released 25 years ago. This year, the song has finally climbed its way to the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100.

On the 25th anniversary of the song, musicologist Nate Sloan joined us to break down what makes All I Want For Christmas Is You so enduring and why it's emerged as a rare newcomer into the canon of classic Christmas songs. 

— Produced by ​Beza Seife